Ch.268Unforgettable Memory (7)

Quite stupidly, I mistook Seti for Zernya. For a moment, I questioned if I was even human.

“Oh shit! You scared me! I thought my heart was going to burst!”

Seti screamed and threw the blanket.

“You look absolutely hideous. Are you a ghost? You are a ghost. Hey, did you fix the horizontal coordinate system?”

“Yes, I did. But why are you hanging around here?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Could it be you were worried about your brother?”

That might be a bit touching if true.

“Need to protect the stock price.”

I should have known.

“Oh, forget it!”

Seti rubbed his head vigorously as he got up. The IoT responded to his voice and turned on the lights. Only then did I realize there were others in the hospital room besides me and Seti.

Sonia and Ireh.

“…del!”

Ireh’s voice reached me first.

“You’re awake. Thank goodness. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine.”

I looked around. It didn’t take long to understand the situation.

“Ireh, you brought me to the hospital, right? Thank you.”

“…Save your thanks. I only did what was natural.”

“Oh, right. What about Rustila and Zernya?”

“Rustila went out to fight the monster. The alert was just lifted, so she’ll be back soon. Zernya is seeing patients right now, so she’ll take longer than Rustila.”

No sooner had Ireh finished speaking than the hospital room door opened.

“Speak of the devil.”

“…Eidel?”

It was Rustila. She was drenched in sweat.

Rustila was startled when she saw me and approached immediately. I briefed her on my health status and then took out a towel from the side table and handed it to her.

“Good job, Rusty. How was the situation?”

“Nothing special. It was only a Level 1 alert. Thanks to it being just a monster, we cleaned up quickly and came back.”

Rustila wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked me.

“Are you feeling better?”

“I feel much better after getting some sleep.”

“You troublemaker. I should punish you for making me worry.”

Rustila whispered teasingly as she placed her hand on my shoulder. She naturally leaned her upper body against mine. It was clear what kind of punishment awaited me.

Smooch.

Her invading lips pushed against my tongue. At the same time, my head spun from the soft sensation of our bodies touching.

I had been living in celibacy for an extended period due to my research schedule. The rebound was inevitable.

Just as my lower half was declaring independence from my brain, Rustila pulled her lips away and smiled.

“That’s all for now.”

“Ah.”

“Try to endure it.”

I got back into the hospital bed and covered myself with the blanket. I needed to calm down. At times like this, I should recite pi to control my mind… Ah, damn it. I should just stop thinking altogether.

“Do that when you’re alone, just the two of you. Don’t rub salt in our wounds here!”

“Ah… I’ll go get some fresh air.”

Seti grumbled and scolded us after witnessing the couple’s display of affection. Ireh’s face turned red as a persimmon before she fled outside.

And as for Sonia.

Surprisingly, she showed no reaction.

Because of the conversation I had with Cartesia, I had some expectation that she might have returned. But apparently not yet.

In the end, I need to proceed on the premise that I’ll have to recover Sonia’s memories myself.

“…Sigh.”

There’s a mountain of work to do.

Rustila sat beside me, peeling fruit as she whispered softly.

“It’s good that you care about that child, but don’t overdo it. If you collapse like this, it defeats the purpose.”

“I know. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Please actually follow through this time. How many times has this happened now?”

I smiled bitterly.

Yes, how many times indeed.

Come to think of it, it seems like research and women are what make me collapse, not the Outer Gods.

Nevertheless, I can’t help it.

This is just the nature I was born with.

***

After seeing Rustila and Eidel kiss.

Though she didn’t show it, Sonia felt an inexplicable discomfort.

[— Current recovery progress: 81.64%]

It was strange.

Who was she to feel such emotions?

Of course, androids have hearts and opinions too.

But being jealous of a married man’s wife makes no sense. After all, she had only met her master about a month ago.

[— Current recovery progress: 84.72%]

No.

Was it really just a month?

Was she certain that she had only known her master for a month?

‘What blasphemous thoughts…’

Sonia shook her head vigorously.

Data never lies.

She and Eidel hadn’t known each other for long. They were clearly in a master-servant relationship bound by license, nothing more, nothing less.

And yet, still.

[— Current recovery progress: 87.90%]

What could it be?

This empty, aching feeling.

[— Current recovery progress: 90.00%]

[— Core data transfer complete. Subsequent processing may take considerable time.]

“…Ugh.”

A bottleneck suddenly occurred in her thought process. The flow of time stuttered like hitting a speed bump.

“Sonia? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Sonia caught her breath as if she had just finished aerobic exercise.

Fortunately, it was only a temporary phenomenon.

What could have caused that sensation just now? She employed diagnostic tools but ultimately couldn’t find the source.

Assuming it was just a one-time occurrence, she dismissed it as insignificant.

Several days passed like that.

Eidel was discharged from the hospital. Despite Zernya’s objections, he continued both work and studies. Due to the backlog that had accumulated while he was in the hospital, he actually had more work than before.

Sonia wanted to stop her master, but she couldn’t. There were tasks that wouldn’t get done just because Eidel took a little rest. He was irreplaceable.

“Sonia, what’s my next schedule?”

“The regular meeting, sir.”

“I suppose today will be the last one.”

Eidel muttered.

“What do you mean? The last one?”

“I mean this war will soon be over.”

Eidel took a short nap as Zernya had requested, then entered the conference room. Sonia and Ireh accompanied him.

Eidel took the podium, displayed his presentation, and began.

“…The Queen is forcing us into continuous attrition. If this continues, the Federation will be devastated.”

Everyone nodded.

A prolonged war against the ever-multiplying Darwin’s Legion would be a bad move.

“Just as the Queen prefers quick resolution, we too must end this war quickly. This is something not only I but also the military high command agrees with. Therefore, I would like to show you all a solution to this.”

Eidel moved to the next slide.

“Ooh!”

The attendees gasped in amazement.

And for good reason.

What they saw was hope.

Eidel raised his voice as he surveyed the audience.

“The recovery ships and equipment are all complete. Are you going to let them sit idle?”

Thousands of trillions in research funds from government, corporations, and individuals.

The 1,200 Aether Belt Recovery Headquarters and their subordinate research institutions that grew from those research funds.

And the soldiers who risked their lives to shield the researchers so they could complete their work.

This was the result of all three elements working in harmony.

“Let’s end this.”

A gleam of madness shone in the eyes of the soldiers and scientists.

As soon as the meeting ended, military command began swift discussions. They mobilized troops and formalized operations that had previously existed only on paper.

Sonia placed her hand on her chest. She stared at Eidel coming down from the podium with a dazed expression. Her master had never looked so impressive.

[— Current recovery progress: 91.00%]

[— Preparing for synchronization.]

Thump, thump.

It felt as if a non-existent heart was beating.

***

The operation plan drafted by the military high command was passed to the Federation President and the Southern Governor. As the military commanders-in-chief, they approved the operation, igniting military action.

The operation was named “Double Scythe.”

The plan was to deploy forces drawn from the eastern and western regions as left and right wings, restoring the Aether Belt from the edges inward like swinging scythes for harvest.

Of course, the Queen is no fool. Such a supreme being would certainly understand humans’ intentions.

Therefore.

I found myself aboard a spaceship after a long time.

Seti cursed profusely.

“I can’t live like this! Now you’re going to be bait for Outer Gods on the front lines? The stocks that rose because of you are falling again! What are we going to do about this?”

“That’s why you should go long when it rises and short when it falls. Long-short-long-short. Okay?”

“Aaaaargh!”

“Your constellation predictions are terrible.”

“It’s because of you! You human circuit breaker!”

Seti fumed and said.

“Who suggested sending you to the front lines? Let me see their faces.”

“I submitted the proposal.”

“What?”

“I submitted the proposal and it was approved.”

“Excuse me. Do you think going to war is like applying for housing?”

“Of course, many people opposed it. But you know what kind of person your brother is. I’m a human resonator who gives infinite mental power buffs to people around me when fighting with the Great Triangle.”

There’s a reason I’m personally stepping forward.

The main force needs to stay with me so that even if an Outer God’s true form appears, the soldiers won’t fall into a groggy state.

“I’m only doing this because there’s no other choice.”

“…Whatever, just don’t die out there.”

After saying goodbye to my sister, I boarded the main recovery ship. This vessel was both the control ship overseeing the Aether Belt recovery and a massive flagship equipped with various armaments.

I wasn’t the only one isolated here.

Rustila, Zernya, Ireh. All the women needed for the Great Triangle were assigned to the same ship.

And that’s not all.

My father and mother, who were worried about me, along with a medical team from the Rheinland family, came in person to prepare for any contingencies.

Moreover, the forces gathered to protect me were top-notch.

Virgo, Infantry, Centaurus, Leo, Aquila, and Pisces.

The federal government assigned a total of six top-grade inspectors from other regional jurisdictions, including Great Omegas, to stay by my side to keep me alive at all costs.

There was nothing to fear.

Because everyone was here.

[— Due to the effect of ‘Great Triangle (Lv.10)’, nearby allies’ maximum mental stats are fixed at NULL.]

From now on, I’m a walking mental ward.

Kuuuung.

Hundreds of ships equipped with Aether Belt recovery equipment launched simultaneously. The recovery ships, escorted by carrier battle groups, teleported to their respective positions in an instant.

Literally, the scenery changed in a flash.

So far, there didn’t seem to be any problems.

“Master Eidel.”

Just then, Sonia suddenly addressed me.

“Honestly… I still can’t believe it. That you, a civilian, would come to such a battlefield.”

“Wasn’t the Pastel planetary system a battlefield?”

“But that was still a planet. This is a ship with nowhere to escape. Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Do I seem to be in a hurry?”

Sonia nodded.

“I am in a bit of a hurry, actually. I need to end this war before the first half of this year ends, no matter what.”

“…Why?”

“I have my PhD defense in the second half.”